Obscure

forty seven

THAT CLASS ENDED very quickly, much to Sophie's relief.

Her body burned, like lava had replaced the substance in her veins. She didn't sweat, much to her amazement, or produce any sort of rancid body odor. The air around her skin just seemed a lot cooler, like when she had a fever.

Aubrey directed her toward their next class, which turned out to be more like a lecture. Sophie sat in a desk and listened to an older woman with rounded glasses drone on about the importance of blood to a vampire.

It wasn't just food, Sophie was surprised to learn. It was a life-source.

"It replenishes our own blood," Aubrey explained, leading Sophie back toward her new bedroom. "Our new bodies treat our blood like food; part of it is broken down into smaller molecules and stored as energy. The other part is treated like normal blood; it transports important things throughout the body and keeps our organs alive. Unfortunately, our venom is constantly dissolving the blood and we can't just replenish it on our own, either. So we have to find an outside source."

Sophie couldn't quite wrap her head around it. "An outside source...as in human blood, right?"

"Or animal blood," Aubrey said with a nod. Sophie watched as she squatted down in front of the door and jammed a pin into the doorknob. It wiggled, and Sophie heard the latch within the door click. As the door swung open, Aubrey stepped inside and continued, "We can drink animal blood too. It's just harder to digest. Human blood is also better for us. Like it makes us stronger and stuff."

Sophie grimaced at the idea of drinking blood, period. The thought of it reminded her of when she had been freed from the pod. Memories flooded her; the scorching pain her throat, the thick dark substance she had drowned.

Aubrey plopped down on Sophie's bed and sighed. "I think it's because we used to be human, so our antibodies recognize human blood as our own. I'm not quite sure though."

"I think I kind of understand," Sophie muttered and closed her door behind her.

Aubrey inclined her head and pursed her lips, her expression calculating. "Alright," she murmured after several moments of silence. "I think we need to come up with some sort of plan to find my brother."

Sophie nodded in agreement. She leaned against the desk, her arms folded across her chest. "We need to find Mr. Wolfe too," she added, her expression twisting with another grimace.

"I thought he was fired," Aubrey said, visibly startled. "That's what the Headmaster told us."

Sophie blinked and shook her head. Her gaze remained focused on the ground. "After you...attacked me, I was placed into one of those medical pods that you designed, remember?" When Aubrey nodded, Sophie continued, "Well, I heard a voice."

Aubrey's eyes widened.

"Not just any voice," Sophie rushed to explain. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment as Aubrey eyed her warily. "It was Wolfe. He told me that he imprinted on me, and that our connection allowed us to communicate through our minds. That, and the fact that he was locked in a pod that desensitized him."

Aubrey's expression lit up with horrified comprehension. Her hand lifted and pressed against her mouth. The corners of her eyes wrinkled as she grimaced. "Oh my god. Sophie. Do you realize...."

Sophie waited for Aubrey to continue but the blond seemed to be at a loss for words. Aubrey stood, her hands clenched tight at her sides. She started to pace the room, shaking her head, muttering, "Crap, crap, crap. We have to find both of them. My poor Wolfe." She ran a hand through her hair and said, "Werewolves rely heavily on their senses, much more than we do. He'll go crazy in that chamber..."

Then she turned to Sophie, her eyes swimming with pain. "Sophie, he could die if we don't help him."

"Let's help him then," Sophie said. "Let's find both him and Eli."

Aubrey swayed a bit on her feet. She gulped and unsteadily sat back down on the edge of the bed. Her expression and demeanor reminded Sophie of a small, terrified child. It took her a few moments to recover.

"This castle is only so big," Sophie continued. "Both of them have to be somewhere. They might even be in the same room –they might be in the Headmaster's secret lab. The one that you told me about, remember?"

"I remember," Aubrey whispered. She rubbed at her eyes and pursed her lips. "It stands to reason that they would be in the same room. I remember that assignment; the chamber that Wolfe is locked in requires a lot of petroleum serum, just like the healing pods."

"Wait, petroleum serum? Isn't that like...for gas and oil?"

Aubrey regarded Sophie with a somewhat amused look. "Think of a special kind of Vaseline. Petroleum serum is really just petroleum jelly mixed with vampire venom. It heals deeper wounds faster than the usual jelly, and also makes it hard to move."

Sophie grunted. She remembered the weird jelly substance she'd tried to fight while in the pod. "The chamber that Wolfe is in has that stuff too?"

"It should," Aubrey answered. She looked uncertain. "I didn't design it myself. It was an assignment in our weaponry class. I can't remember who made it, just that it was very similar to my medical pod design."

"So we find one, then we should find the other," Sophie concluded.

Aubrey nodded. She rubbed at her temples and sighed. Her face remained buried into her hands, her elbows propped against her knees. "The real question is..." she groaned, "How do we even start to look for the first one?"

Silence encompassed them both. Sophie started to pace the room as she thought. Her body still burned from her classes earlier. She focused on the slight discomfort, and her thoughts strayed back to the healing pod. "The petroleum serum has to come from somewhere, right?" she muttered.

"It's stored somewhere underground in these weird vats, kind of like water. Pipes work like arteries and veins, connecting it to the different rooms that it needs to go to," Aubrey explained under her breath.

Sophie stared at her. "If we can find its origin, and then the pipes connected should lead us to the room Eli and Wolfe are trapped in."

Aubrey lifted her head. She stared at Sophie, her eyes wide. "The Headmaster should have some sort of map or blueprint of the piping in his office."

Sophie deflated. "How are we going to sneak into the Headmaster's office and steal them?"

The Headmaster was incredibly intimidating. Sophie didn't think that either of them could sneak around his office without his knowledge. And something told her that he wouldn't be happy about them trying to find Eli or free Wolfe. Especially if he told the student body that Wolfe had just been fired...

Aubrey's expression twisted grimly. "I know of a way," she muttered.

let me know if you find any of this confusing! ♡